Role of Health Insurance Coverage in Women’s Access to Prescription Medicines

Nov 29, 2007

This article presents findings from the 2004 Kaiser Women's Health Survey examining how health insurance coverage affects access to prescription medicines for non-elderly women. Results from the nationally representative telephone survey indicate that a lack of health insurance coverage is significantly associated with experiencing cost barriers to prescription medications, regardless of income level. These findings underscore the important role that insurance coverage plays in protecting women from out-of-pocket costs and for accessing prescription medicines.

The article was written by Usha Ranji, a Kaiser Senior Policy Analyst; Roberta Wyn, Associate Director at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research; Alina Salganicoff, Kaiser Vice President and Director of Women's Health Policy; and Hongjian Yu, Director for Statistical Support at UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research. It was published in the journal Women's Health Issues.